We watched over half and left. It is so dark. I thought Jesus, Mary and Joseph were depicted beautifully. I prefer to believe Christ knew more about his mission at a young age and that his "parents" weren't afraid to teach and support him in it. The evil was too evil for me. I wish it would have been different. It could be such a sweet story.
PA PAPAApril 8, 2016
Although each of us may have created such an artistic presentation differently, I believe the subject and story were insightful and instructive. I was not offended, but rather, was appreciative that others care enough to thoughtfully present their thoughts about the childhood of the Savior.
SBApril 8, 2016
Very much enjoyed the movie. Though we don't know much about Jesus as a child, the ideas here were very thought provoking. Would recommend it.
MJSApril 8, 2016
My face was wet with tears when we left this film. It made me ponder profound spiritual matters.
First of all, any time you go to see a story of the Savior done by those who don't have the advantage of what has been prophetically revealed in our day, you have to partly set aside some issues, and look for the portrayal of faith--is there light here? And there was so much, setting aside some of the errors and the assumptions of the early portion--I don't think he could heal without knowing why, for example. But I wasn't going to let that destroy what truth might be there.
What was it like to be this Child, growing up? How did he experience his life? If he grew "from grace to grace" and "received not of the fullness at the first," how did it come? If he never sinned even in childhood but wasn't just waiting to get old enough to begin his ministry--sort of like checking his watch to see if it's time yet--then how did his understanding and knowledge grow? We don't have answers, because we have no record. We do know that his very nature was unique.
But this portrayal, if you can reach for the spirit and Spirit in it, can open and touch your heart. To watch him hear the story for the first time of the slaughter in Bethlehem when he was born, told by an old man in the temple, is to crack your own heart open. To feel the lightness of joy he finds at the end is to shed tears in a different way.
The film portrays what it's like to live under a tyrant, in daily fear. Not just as a story, but how would it be if this was where you had to live your life? The Roman officer was affected despite himself, and contrary to all his prior experience, but you could never feel safe.
This film was deeply affecting to us.
RRMApril 8, 2016
My daughter and I went to see this the first day it came out. My daughter is a special 26-year old woman who is innocent and childlike. She is a visual learner and when we saw the previews at "Risen" she wanted to see this movie. It is not a movie for young children but for those old enough to understand the world's history of good and evil. There is good in this movie. She recognized "Satan" before I did and she shouted out, "Don't listen to him!" I'm sad the previous commentor did not enjoy this movie but for us, it strengthened our knowledge and awareness of the Father of Lies and of the goodness, strength, and trust that Mary and Joseph had in their Father in Heaven. Yes, it is a fictional story but one that I will be purchasing for our home library to watch, ponder, and learn from.
Jonathan DeckerApril 8, 2016
DJC, it got much better once the holy family returned to Nazareth. I agree, the first section of the movie was atrocious.
DJCApril 8, 2016
We stayed at this movie 5 or 10 minutes at the most and walked out. The theater returned our money but if they hadn't it wouldn't have mattered we would have left anyway. Very offensive.
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Renae PeloApril 10, 2016
We watched over half and left. It is so dark. I thought Jesus, Mary and Joseph were depicted beautifully. I prefer to believe Christ knew more about his mission at a young age and that his "parents" weren't afraid to teach and support him in it. The evil was too evil for me. I wish it would have been different. It could be such a sweet story.
PA PAPAApril 8, 2016
Although each of us may have created such an artistic presentation differently, I believe the subject and story were insightful and instructive. I was not offended, but rather, was appreciative that others care enough to thoughtfully present their thoughts about the childhood of the Savior.
SBApril 8, 2016
Very much enjoyed the movie. Though we don't know much about Jesus as a child, the ideas here were very thought provoking. Would recommend it.
MJSApril 8, 2016
My face was wet with tears when we left this film. It made me ponder profound spiritual matters. First of all, any time you go to see a story of the Savior done by those who don't have the advantage of what has been prophetically revealed in our day, you have to partly set aside some issues, and look for the portrayal of faith--is there light here? And there was so much, setting aside some of the errors and the assumptions of the early portion--I don't think he could heal without knowing why, for example. But I wasn't going to let that destroy what truth might be there. What was it like to be this Child, growing up? How did he experience his life? If he grew "from grace to grace" and "received not of the fullness at the first," how did it come? If he never sinned even in childhood but wasn't just waiting to get old enough to begin his ministry--sort of like checking his watch to see if it's time yet--then how did his understanding and knowledge grow? We don't have answers, because we have no record. We do know that his very nature was unique. But this portrayal, if you can reach for the spirit and Spirit in it, can open and touch your heart. To watch him hear the story for the first time of the slaughter in Bethlehem when he was born, told by an old man in the temple, is to crack your own heart open. To feel the lightness of joy he finds at the end is to shed tears in a different way. The film portrays what it's like to live under a tyrant, in daily fear. Not just as a story, but how would it be if this was where you had to live your life? The Roman officer was affected despite himself, and contrary to all his prior experience, but you could never feel safe. This film was deeply affecting to us.
RRMApril 8, 2016
My daughter and I went to see this the first day it came out. My daughter is a special 26-year old woman who is innocent and childlike. She is a visual learner and when we saw the previews at "Risen" she wanted to see this movie. It is not a movie for young children but for those old enough to understand the world's history of good and evil. There is good in this movie. She recognized "Satan" before I did and she shouted out, "Don't listen to him!" I'm sad the previous commentor did not enjoy this movie but for us, it strengthened our knowledge and awareness of the Father of Lies and of the goodness, strength, and trust that Mary and Joseph had in their Father in Heaven. Yes, it is a fictional story but one that I will be purchasing for our home library to watch, ponder, and learn from.
Jonathan DeckerApril 8, 2016
DJC, it got much better once the holy family returned to Nazareth. I agree, the first section of the movie was atrocious.
DJCApril 8, 2016
We stayed at this movie 5 or 10 minutes at the most and walked out. The theater returned our money but if they hadn't it wouldn't have mattered we would have left anyway. Very offensive.
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